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Seven times as many Tory councils to sell off school playing fields
Analysis produced by the Labour Party shows that seven times as many Conservative councils want to sell off school playing fields compared to Labour councils.
Figures show that of the 35 decisions made by ministers on the disposal of school playing fields since the General Election, 30 of the applications have been by a Conservative council, 4 by a Labour council, and...

Chancellor’s policies causing long-term damage to our economy - Reeves
Rachel Reeves MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, responding to the Bank of England’s quarterly inflation report, said:
“With growth forecasts slashed yet again, not just this year but in future years too, it is clear that we cannot go on with the same failing plan from this Government. The Chancellor’s policies aren’t only causing short term pain, but long-term damage to our...

Mental health budget cut for first time in a decade - Andy Burnham response
Andy Burnham MP, Labour's Shadow Health Secretary, in response to reports that the NHS mental health budget has been cut for the first time in a decade, said:
"David Cameron has cut the NHS budget for two years in a row and we are now seeing the consequences of his broken promise.
"Under pressure, the NHS is reverting to...

Today Nick Clegg announced that the Coalition government has put on hold until after the 2015 General Election any plans to reform the House of Lords. He also announced that the LibDems would no longer support the Tory's proposed parliamentary boundary changes and reduction in the number of MPs. Although the boundary change proposals would have left Congleton constituency unchanged it was predicted that they would benefit the Tory party...

Tory Louise Mensch to quit as an MP, triggering by-election in marginal Corby seat probably in November. Andy Sawford, Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Corby and East Northamptonshire, said: "Louise Mensch was obviously struggling to balance being MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire with her family and business commitments. I respect her for the honest way she talked about this and her decision to step down. "Labour is now looking forward to the...

Millions of people around the country are facing rises in their council tax from April 2013 on the orders of Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
Manchester City Council announced on Friday a consultation on plans to charge all residents barring pensioners at least 15 per cent of their council tax burden. Conservative Barnet Council, launching their consultation on the same day, could charge even more – up to 25 per...

Chris Leslie MP, Labour’s Shadow Treasury minister, responding to ONS figures showing household disposable income has fallen to the lowest level since the second quarter of 2005, said: “These figures show the harsh squeeze facing families and pensioners, which the Government’s unfair policies are making worse. While millionaires will soon get a tax cut, millions of people on middle and low incomes are paying more because of the rise in VAT and cuts in...

Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, responding to the news that police officer numbers in England and Wales have fallen to their lowest level in nine years, said: “The Tory-led Government has cut nearly 10,000 police officers from communities across the country. And we know that substantially more than half are from 999, neighbourhood and traffic response - the officers we rely on in an emergency.“These figures show the cuts to the police are...

Andy Burnham MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, following the publication of Labour’s second NHS Check Report today, said:
“David Cameron ruthlessly used the NHS before the election to pose as a different kind of Tory and made a series of promises to get into Downing Street – but day by day his words appear increasingly hollow.
“The Prime Minister promised patients would be able to get evening appointments with their GP, but our figures...

The UK recession has deepened; latest official figures have shown, after the output of the economy fell by 0.7% between April and June. The contraction was much bigger than expected and follows a 0.3% drop in the first three months of the year. The graph on the left shows that the economy was recovering following the bank crisis under Labour, but since the general election and the introduction of the austerity regime by...